Posts Tagged Terry McAuliffe

While it was starting to seem like Terry McAulife to take the clear lead in the Virginia governor’s race with Creigh Deeds as the runner up, Politico’s current top headline notes that Brian Moran came out of a Wednesday night interview sponsored by Politico, Youtube, Google and local ABC affiliate out of Virginia “swinging”. Brian Moran certainly poised himself as the more liberal candidate over national party establishment candidate Terry McAulife and the more moderate Creigh Deeds.

As stated previously, recent polls make the initial lead of Terry McAulife seem a lot less certain. The Washington Examiner reported on June 2 that three polls released in the last two days at that point all showed Terry McAulife not in the lead and one showed former state Delegate Brian Moran ahead by 16 points in the liberal Northern Virginia region, a heavily populated region in the state. The Washington Post endorsement of Creigh Deeds has also made the race a lot less certain by propelling his approval ratings in the DC suburbs and helping him take leads in some polls.

Politico’s Scorecard blog reported on a Public Policy Polling survey that showed Deeds leading McAulife 27 to 24% with Moran close behind at 22%. So, it is hard to tell what could happen in this primary that is just 5 days away on June 9. Creigh Deeds is poising himself as the reasonable Democratic moderate similar to Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. He is considered the underdog who comes from the more rural region of Virginia and may be appealing to Democratic voters outside of the DC region. Terry McAulife is the well connected national candidate who will be aided by his benefit from Bill Clinton and other kingpins within the Democratic Party. Moran has the support of a lot of mayors and is considered a “consensus building” candidate but also, as Politico noted, is currently trying to place himself as the more liberal candidate with Deeds to the right of the race and McAulife somewhere in the middle. We’ll be be watching this race closely as the primary draws very near.

High profile former DNC Chairmen Terry McAuliffe has scored more big union endorsements today including: International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, and the AFL-CIO. To receive all of these endorsements should make any Democratic contender in the Virginia Gubernatorial primary feel like they are sitting pretty.

However, new poll numbers released today show McAuliffe trailing behind former State Delegate Brian Moran by 4 points. Moran has 22%, McAuliffe has 18% and State Senator Creigh Deeds has 15%. However, with that leaves 45% undecided which seems quite high with a primary just a little over two months away. Combine that with a margin of error at 3.6%,  making this race essentially any man’s game. As you know, Daily Horse Race will follow closely…

Today, Terry McAuliffe scored a big endorsement in the three way race for the Democratic nominee in the 2009 Virginia governor’s race. McAuliffe was endorsed by AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) giving him an edge over his two Democratic opponents, State Senator Creigh Deeds  and State Delegate Brian Moran. McAuliffe, painted by his opponents as a DC kingpin and outsider, will indeed be boosted by this endorsement for the primary taking place June 9.

Recently, McAuliffe also was the winner of a Northern Virginia straw poll by double digits making his chances soar even higher.